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Does anyone have opnions on the Markbass CMD 102P

+1
I owned that combo, and ended up returning it to GC. It just didn't give me the deep bass that I liked for my cover band. Adding another 210 would probably have made the difference.

Well I currently have an acoustic B200H with an Acoustic 115 cab. I'm sure it has more of a deep bass sound than that (does it?). Would it be unwise to use the 115 with the MB combo with that cab?
 
You'll really need to audition one to be sure.

Short of that, I was in the market for a lightweight combo, and narrowed it down to Markbass. I played thorugh the various MB combos and really liked the sound of the CMD102P. But I was a little concerned about it keeping up with my loudass drummer.

So I hauled him into the local GC with me, we took a CMD102P over to the drum room, and I auditioned the combo with my drummer at peak volume.

He blew me and the CMD102P away.

Same experiment with the CMD151P (1X15 combo, same LM head). I was able to keep up very nicely, even drowned him out a bit.

I bought the CMD151P.

YMMV, depends on your volume needs. You can go with the 102P, and if worse comes to worse, add a seperate cab (like a 1X15 or 2X10). It's perfect for lower volume gigs, and it's a one-hander. Very convenient.
 
You'll really need to audition one to be sure.

Short of that, I was in the market for a lightweight combo, and narrowed it down to Markbass. I played thorugh the various MB combos and really liked the sound of the CMD102P. But I was a little concerned about it keeping up with my loudass drummer.

So I hauled him into the local GC with me, we took a CMD102P over to the drum room, and I auditioned the combo with my drummer at peak volume.

He blew me and the CMD102P away.

Same experiment with the CMD151P (1X15 combo, same LM head). I was able to keep up very nicely, even drowned him out a bit.

I bought the CMD151P.

YMMV, depends on your volume needs. You can go with the 102P, and if worse comes to worse, add a seperate cab (like a 1X15 or 2X10). It's perfect for lower volume gigs, and it's a one-hander. Very convenient.

I'm doing pretty much the same with my LMIII head, except I use a Traveler 151P cab which has a bigger box than the 151P combo. Haven't been drowned out yet. Actually, I have two Travelers, but mostly get by with just one for small-to-medium gigs. Outdoors, two are better, although I got away with just one a couple of weeks ago.

You get more cab volume with a separate head/cab rig.
 
It probably really depends on your band. I know that my LMII + 102p cab will not keep up with my band even at rehearsal, but the head with bigger cabs is pretty loud. We rent a rehearsal space by the hour sometimes that it is equipped with an Ampeg SVT 410he + 115he stack (with a solid state Ampeg head). When I first got my LMII I ran it through the Ampeg cabs and it's loud enough through that. The head itself is pretty strong, especially considering I can carry it along with all my cables and multi-effects pedal in a backpack.

If you go for Markbass stuff I'd suggest going with a separate head instead of the combo, and perhaps pairing it with a Markbass cab or a different brand cab altogether. The piezo tweeter in the Markbass cabs is really hissy, and the combos don't have an L pad for the tweet. The separate cabinets do, and I keep mine down pretty low (like 9 o'clock).
 
I really like mine but for extensive b-string use went for a second 102hf. Works great, one is set vertically near the beater and the combo is behind and angled up at me. More focus down low but still shouldn't upset the bar or elderly Ray Price fans.
 
If you can run an extension cab and are happy with your current tone, why not get another matching cab? You would have 2 pieces, but still fairly compact with less cash outlay.

I am an admitted 15 junkie and as far as Markbass, highly praise the Jeff Berlin combo. I checked out it and the 2 10 before buying and have been totally pleased with my choice.

I just added the NY151 extension cab and don't think I'll ever need more power or volume for my purposes.